Summary
In Hawes v. Conner, 224 Ga. 567, 568 (163 S.E.2d 724), the plaintiffs as taxpayers sought to enjoin the county taxing authorities from assessing and collecting taxes under an alleged illegal digest.
Summary of this case from Grafton v. TurnerOpinion
24757.
ARGUED JULY 8, 1968.
DECIDED SEPTEMBER 23, 1968.
Injunction. Charlton Superior Court. Before Judge Hodges.
Arthur K. Bolton, Attorney General, William L. Harper, H. Perry Michael, Assistant Attorneys General, for appellant.
Pritchard Thomas, M. C. Pritchard, Leon A. Wilson, II, for appellees.
Where taxpayers made no request for arbitration of values as authorized by Code Ann. § 92-6912 (Ga. L. 1958, p. 387) and the tax digest is approved by the State Revenue Commissioner, they will not thereafter be allowed to attack the assessments in a court of equity. And where the county fails to appeal from the Commissioner's order as provided in Code Ann. §§ 92-8426.4 (Ga. L. 1943, pp. 204, 206) and 92-8446 (Ga. L. 1937-38, Ex. Sess., pp. 77, 100; 1943, pp. 204, 206, 208), it too is without standing in a court of equity to attack such order. Nor could the court lawfully enjoin the Commissioner from requiring any raise in valuations in the 1968 digest when it had not been presented for his approval and he had indicated no intention to order a raise therein.
ARGUED JULY 8, 1968 — DECIDED SEPTEMBER 23, 1968.
After the 1967 tax digest for Charlton County had been forwarded to the State Revenue Commissioner for approval and after he had ordered it raised according to the requirements of law, the taxpayers in the instant case sought to have it declared void because it had not originally been complied on assessments made on a uniform basis but had been done in an illegal and discriminatory manner in that the tax assessors had failed to assess property uniformly and equally according to its just and fair market value. They prayed that the 1967 tax digest as approved by the Commissioner be declared null and void and that he be enjoined from arbitrarily increasing the valuations and that the other taxing officials be required to uniformly assess the property for the years 1967 and 1968 and from otherwise assessing and collecting taxes under the alleged illegal digest for the year 1967.
After a hearing, the court found the increase ordered by the Commissioner was unconstitutional, null and void, and enjoined the alleged increase by him, and likewise ordered him not to impose an increase on the 1968 Charlton County digest. The appeal is from this interlocutory order.
"All taxation shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax." Code Ann. § 2-5403 (Const. of 1945; Ga. L. 1945). This means that the levy for county purposes must be uniform throughout the county. It also means that the levy for State purposes must be uniform throughout the State. Hutchins v. Howard, 211 Ga. 830 ( 89 S.E.2d 183); Colvard v. Ridley, 218 Ga. 490 ( 128 S.E.2d 732). The procedure for securing uniformity in the county is by Code Ann. § 92-6911 (Ga. L. 1937, pp. 517, 519) placed upon county tax assessors. And if their action displeases a taxpayer, his remedy is arbitration as provided in Code Ann. § 92-6912 (Ga. L. 1958, p. 387). The arbitrators have authority and a duty to make their valuations uniform with other valuations. Whitehead v. Henson, 223 Ga. 329 ( 155 S.E.2d 391). The taxpayers in this case having failed to complain of valuations or uniformity as prescribed by law for settling such matters, and the tax digest conforming with the Commissioner's direction having been approved by the Commissioner, and no appeal therefrom taken as authorized by Code Ann. §§ 92-8426.4 (Ga. L. 1943, pp. 204, 206) and 92-8446 (Ga. L. 1937-38, Ex. Sess., pp. 77, 100; 1943, pp. 204, 206, 208), it is not now permissible for either the taxpayer or the county to attack in a court of equity either the individual assessment or the Commissioner's order approving the 1967 tax digest. See Kiker v. Morley, 223 Ga. 736 ( 157 S.E.2d 745).
The Commissioner is required to seek uniformity throughout the State on the State levy by requiring all counties to assess property uniformly throughout the State by Ga. L. 1966, p. 45 ( Code Ann. §§ 92-7001, 92-7002). This is likewise demanded by the Constitution. His order which did so was not unconstitutional. We cannot reach the question made by the pleadings but not ruled upon by the trial judge — that the statute empowering the Commissioner to issue such order is unconstitutional since it was not ruled upon.
Since the 1968 tax digest had not been presented to the Commissioner for approval, and since it was not shown what percentage of valuation would be employed therein, there was no evidence to authorize the order enjoining him from ordering any raise of the value therein. As pointed out by the State, that digest could grossly undervalue the taxing value and yet the Commissioner could not require it raised as the statute requires and constitutional uniformity would demand. It follows that for the foregoing reasons the judgment must be reversed.
Judgment reversed. All the Justices concur.